Load binder



June 20, 1950 V. S. DURBlN 1.01m BINDER Filed April 17, 1948 INVENTOR VQTAW S. DURBIN ATTO RN EY Patented June 20, 1950 STAT-ES ATENT OFFICE I I I 2,512,491

LOAD BINDER VotawS. Durbin, WebsterGroves,iM0. Application April 17, 1948, Serial No. 21,6'69

This invention relates-to improvements "in load binders, and considered broadly, relates to 'ttig'gle type =tensioning'devices such as may be employed in tigntenmga chain, cable orth'e'like, 'fo'r example, in seeurement of logs, pipes, poles and -similar 'articles 'to'gether as a unit load, and inplace on vehicles forthe purposes of preventing fs'hiftihigdf the lo'a'd. Numerous other fields ofusage df devieesof this general order, are known in the art. H

Although teggl'tyne tensioning devices such as -"exemplifiedb'y load'binders, have been in use for year s, there has long *existed a common cause' of their failure under conditions of extr me or abnoi'malloading. "Assemblies of this eusually eniploy ahandledlever, the shorter, aemateauvererm of which carries spaced piv- (its. Sueh an 'element operates, when locked, in 'i'nterfitted relation to ane=-e1ement-0f a connected linkage, one of such elements, more usually the lever end; beingfdr'med 'of'spac'ed 'furca'tions necess arilykeptparallel so as 'to'rnaintain the pivot axes in" correct operative relation. :The prevalent source of "failure'consi'sts of spreading or divergence of the furcations leading 'nnder extreme conditionstoa disconnectiono'f the pivoted parts "and failure o'tjthe binder as a load retaining agency, 'often 'withhigh likelihood df personal injury anli pei'habsloss of valuable property con- "s't'it'u'ting the load. The pre's ent improvements "accordingly have j as a principal obj ect, to obviate "the noted spreading tendency ef the furcations or jawfs, andQto enable safely raising the rated -makirnuinbiill to whieh devices ofthiskind may "be siib"jeet'el. The "present invention is related in part *to' and embodies ertain improvements over a copenHin'g-application bearing Serial No. 744,808 fil'ed A ril "30,1947, now Patent No. 2,500,488, fpatentedfMareh 14, 11950, and entitled Load mailing Devices.

The invention lia s asafurther important objecta greatly improved constrution of the furj'c'a'te 'elein'eritsj'forming the mouth, particularly in {the design-and'prepditionstheredf, so as greatly to'-erihance the resistance of its furcations to stressing tendenies'or other deformation out of originalreg ister"and paraneusm. In the prejferred examae, 'thi s consists of a generally triangular formofe'ach of thefurcations, so as to provide for 'maiiiniumfw'idththereof inthe region *of one oft'he pivot-a es.

' :Still anotherobjeet of the present invention is attained in an improvedcomb'ination of the generallytriangular form of "furcation's defining the '"mouth of a lever "or linkage element of a load 4' Claims. (Cl. 25478) 2 binder, with an improved, preferably integral bridge between "the spaced 'furcatio'ns or jaws defining the'mouth.

The foregoing and numerous dtherobjets Will more cle'arly appear from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, particularly when considered 'in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which;

Fig. 1 is aside elevation of-a load binderem- :bodying the arine-improvements, and showing the parts in an openposition, priorto tensioriing achain orthe like; g I r Fig. 2 is a view-similar to Fig.1, but-showing the parts of the binder in locked or load securing relation;

Fig. 3 is anenlarged transverse s'eetion through portions of the mouth andtongue of the assembly, 'andtak'en along line '3'3*o'fFig. 2, and

Fig. l i's an isometric View of the mouth end of the lever, with the handle broken away.

Referring now by eharacters of reference to "thedrawing, certain of elemajoraemems o ffthle present structure, included for completeness and illustration of operation, are or may be ofknown construction, but it may be indicated for 'fullness of disclosurethat a chain, certain links (if which are indic'ated at-"C, will usuallybe employed "to embrace with 'th'e'aidof the binder, a load of poles, logs, pipe-or the like. Obviouslv also the device maybe used with the chain, as for the lifting ofloads or-other general tensioning "purposes where movementis required only-through a relatively restricted range. A pair of chain-en- 1 gagin'gfhooks lll'and H areeach shown as provided with adjacent links; these being indicated at [2 and I"3resp'ectively, each'of these 'link 's be- 'ing permanently secured to and through the aperture of an eye bolt or swivel such as HI engaging thelink l2, -and I5engaging the linlg I3. 'The'eye -l 5 is'shown a's pivotally cdnnectedjinthe manner of a swivel, through an aperturedhead portion l'E-operating adjacent an enlargement l'l, formed as a part of a tongue member'generally A indicated M 20. Similarly, the eye member T4 is "connected for swivel movement through the bridge portion'z-l of a clevi's, and the latter generally indicated at 22.

The actuating lever 'ofj'the device includes a handle portionproper indicated at '23, which is preferably of -I beam'seetion,andwhich may be of any suitable length, and one endof which is connected as through a divergent'portion 24, to a bifurcate mouth-forming portion generally indi- "cated'at 2 51 Assuming, as is "preferred in the present example, that the lever be formed as a single malleable casting, the furcate end 25 will constitute an integral extension of portions 23 and 24.

The tongue 20 has its end opposite the eye l5, pivotally connected as through a pin 25 at a substantial depth within the mouth formed by and between the jaws or furcations of portion 25. It will now clearly appear that the tongue 20 is arranged to extend and work between the furcations of the mouth 25, external pivot means being provided near the opposite extremities of the mouth furcations. In the present example, the outermost pivot may consist of integral projections or cars 30, which extend outwardly of the hanced by the integral bridge such as 25A, a still further substantial increase in safe rating of tension or load of the device is imparted by improvement of design of the furcations or jaws propel. Instead of the prevalent and more usual offset of the mouth from the handle of the actuating lever, as is sometimes referred to in the trade as a dog-leg design, the present design distinguished, with a greatly increased permissive load. Since each of the furcations is or may be identical with the other except of course relatively reversed in position, a description of one thereof will suffice for both. It will appear from free end portions of the furcations sufficiently to In order to render more meaningful the structure characterizing the present improvements, later to be described, a brief reference is made at this point to operation. With the chain C brought around the load in snugly embracing relation thereto, and with the hooks l0 and H engaging the chain, the handle 23 is initially positioned as far to the right (Fig. 1) as possible, and the chain tensioned by movement of the handle to the left (Fig. 1) to bring it to a position such as shown by Fig. 2. The relative positions of the hook I l in Figs. 1 and 2, will indicate the substantial tensioning effect incident to the aforesaid movement of the handle 23. Incident to such movement, it will have appeared that the elements 20, 25 and 22 serve as a toggle linkage;

that the toggle thus constituted is first brought to a centered relation and thereafter brought to a slightly over-centered relation, as will best appear from Fig. 2, wherein the line of pull connects the eye elements l4 and i5, and lies somewhat above the pivot 28. Thus the tension through the device will tend to maintain the binder in locked or operative position, requiring a definite, intentional opposite movement of the handle to open the binder or bring it to released position. i

As hereinbefore generally referred to, in case a furcate structure such as that of the mouth 25, is subjected to an abnormal loading in a general direction lengthwise thereof, there will re sult a tendency of the furcations to spread or diverge, greatly enlarging the open end of the mouth, and causing dislocation and disengagement of the outer pivots, this effect being most pronounced in the region of the axis of pivots 30, about which the mouth and clevis are relatively displaceable. After numerous experiments it has been found that a structural bridge between the furcations forming the mouth, will enable the device to resist substantially greater loading, often doubling the otherwise safe loading, without noticeably resulting in the spreading tendency above referred to. Such a structural bridge is, of itself, disclosed and claimed in the copending application above referred to. In the principal embodiment of the present structure the bridge proper is shown as a tunnel-like extension of the mouth proper and indicated at 25A, and which consists of an arch structure underlying but formed as an integral part of the furcations proper 33 and 34, which form therebetween the mouth 35, best appearing in Fig. 3.

Although experience has indicated that the maximum tension or loading which the device will successfully withstand without spreading of its Jaws or furcations is very considerably enthe drawing that, proceeding from the handle proper toward the free end of the handle-mouth element as viewed in side elevation, the handle markedly-diverges to form a portion in the region of the pivot 26, which is preferably of at least double the width of the handle proper. This widest portion may befconsidered as the base of a triangle generally defining the lateral shape of each of the I furcations such as 33 and 34, and from which zone the jaws or furcations converge toward the free extremity of the actuated end of the lever element. It will appear clearly from the drawing that the mouth-proper and the furcations are each of a generally triangular shape which is defined or bounded in part by the location of the pivot axes in the regions of two of the apices of each of the triangles.

It has been found by exhaustive experiments that it is very important to protect not only the outer mouth portion against spreading, as is effectively done by the bridge 25A, but also to guard against such deformation in the region of the inner pivot such as-26 which serves to attach the tongue 20 to the lever. In this latter region will be noticed the greatly augmented width of the furcations along the base of the triangular structure, this being along a line transverse to the axis of the handle and also transverse to the pivot axis identified with the pivot struc ture 26, theline of maximum width, indicated at 40 being the base of the quasi-triangular outline of jaw 33, as shown. 7

Further considerable rigidity and resistance to spread of the furcations is imparted by adding only a minimum of metal in the formation of the jaws, to present outwardly projecting flanges or flange formations such as shown at M along the margin opposite the bridge, a similar flange 42 on each jaw along the opposite margin in converging relation to the fiange M, and apair of intermediate integral rib-like formations 43. Similarly it has been found that the bridge 25A is rendered desirably more rigid by a prominent flange or external rib 44 along its outermost margins, and a similar although if desired a smaller 2 such rib 45 along its inner margin. These various added features have been proven, by careful and repeated experiments, to increase the safe permissive loading of the device by several thousand pounds over one in which the jaws or furcations are of conventional construction. The metal added in the general regions as described, is markedly more effective than the same amount of metal utilized merely in increasing the over all gauge or thickness of jaws of conventional construction. As heretofore indicated, the greatest resistance to deformation under-extreme loading, is realized by utilizing both the bridge such as 25A or some counterpart thereof, and the generally triangular jaw structure. It is a preference for best results to avoid any of the usual reduction or relief along the edges in the regions identified with the flange, formation 4|, but rather, to the full extent permitted by operating clearancesto extend these portions so that their margins arearched'or convex as shown.

, ,The' proportions ofthe"tongue, mouth and bridge are preferably such that, as the parts are moved into operative orlo'cked position, the innermost margin of the tongue when slightly overcentered, abuts with theinner surface of the bridge ;-25A.- From this it will appear that-the bridge serves not only as a positive tie bar between the jaws of the mouth to prevent spreading thereof, but also serves in a positive manner to limit the movement of the tongue in a locking direction. An important, further feature resulting from the location and downward extension of the bridge structure 25A, is realized in the function of this portion as a downward projection or arm to serve as a rocker and bearing upon the top of the load. A comparison of the positions of bridge 25A in Figs. 1 and 2, will reveal that when the outermost edge of flange 44 is brought beyond a horizontal position, this margin of the bridge serves as an abutment, cam or rocker resulting in a slightly increased tension of the load tie, hence resistance to movement of handle 23. This resistance quickly disappears as the handle is brought slightly beyond a vertical position, in looking direction. The noted effect is markedly advantageous, in that it serves to prevent unintended unlocking or release of the binder, since the opposite, or clockwise movement of the handle (Figs. 1 and 2) would meet the same resistance in bringing the handle back over the range of its movement in which the bridge encounters the load therebeneath. The movement of the handle 23 to bring the parts into locking position is facilitated by rounding the center marginal portion of the bridge in the outer region of the mouth, as indicated at 46, this rounded region serving as a cam or rocker in the manner and with the advantages noted.

Although the tie bar or bridge structure indicated at 25A will, when formed on the jaws, markedly increase their resistance to spreading stresses, it should nevertheless be pointed out that this provision alone falls considerably short of the maximum attainment of resistance to spreading realized by the present improvements. To give but a single concrete example predicated on actual independent tests, malleable cast types of older conventional design will sometimes fail under tension loads of the order of 5,000-6,000 lbs., whereas those of comparable design and weight, in cast malleable type embodying the present improvements, have repeatedly withstood tests in accordance with independent determinations, of the order of 23,000-25,000 lbs. chain tension. The same proportion of increase in permissive tensile loading, prevails indifferent sizes of load binders. It may be noted that, as indicated by the foregoing test figures, the present improvements enable binders of malleable cast type to exceed the greatest possible loading of conventional drop forged designs, conservatively by 7,000 lbs. in sizes comparible to those subjected to the tests above described. It should further be noted that the present design enables, for the first time, malleable load binders to be produced, within acceptable weight range, carrying load ratings safely and substantially above those required by the various State laws and regulations governing apparatus of this type.

Although the invention has been described by making a particularized reference to selected structure, the detailgof description is to be understood solely in an instructive and not in any limiting sense,.numerous variants being possible within the scope of the claims hereunto appended. a

I claim as ,my invention:

1. In a load binder, an elongate lever including a handle and a furcate end forming a mouth between the furcations thereof, atongue pivoted to thelever substantially inwardly of the mouth, pivot members projecting externally of the furcations near the outer end of the mouth, connections externally of the mouth, to said pivot members, and extensions of the furcations beyond the mouth proper, formed of spaced walls connected together and constituting a tension piece bridging the furcations in a zone substantially outwardly beyond the tongue pivot, said connected extensions bridging one side of the mouth over a substantial portion of the distance between said tongue pivot and the external pivot members.

2. In a load binder, a lever having a furcate end with a mouth between the furcations, a tongue pivoted to the lever at a distancelnwardly of the mouth, pivot-forming members projecting externally of the furcations near their outer ends, a further connecting piece engaging said pivot-forming members, the lever, tongue and connecting piece constituting a toggle-type linkage, and a tunnel structure constituted as an extension of the normally lowermost margin of the mouth, and constituting a cross connection and tension bridge between the furcations of the lever, the inside extremity of said tunnel structure adapted to be abuttingly engaged by the tongue along a substantial part of one side margin of the tongue whenthe parts of the binder are in operative position, with the linkage elements brought slightly beyond a centered relation of said linkage.

3. In a load binder, a handle having spaced furcations of a generally triangular shape extended from one end of the handle, a tongue pivoted at a distance substantially inwardly of the free ends of said furcations, pivot elements projecting outwardly of the furcations near their free ends, the furcations being characterized by an extended portion of both furcations, such extension being of a substantially U-shaped transverse section and located in the general region of said outer pivots, the bridge of the U-shaped portion serving as a tension piece to resist spreading of the external pivots under extreme loads, and the bridge being further formed to provide thereon a rocker surface, engaging the load within the binder, and load connections from said external pivots.

4. In a load binder of a type including an operating lever provided with a mouth at one end, formed by spaced side walls, a tongue pivoted to the lever and operating across the mouth, a clevis connection externally of said side walls near their outmost ends, an arch structure formed integrally with said side walls, as a deep extension beyond the mouth proper along margins of the walls between the ends thereof, the arch structure being of increasing height or depth proceeding inwardly of the clevis connection, the tongue being of substantially rectilinear construction and under load, being received between said side walls and adapted to abut the internal surface of said arch structure, the side walls of the mouth, as well as the ends of the arch structure, being characterized by external mar'ginaliflingex or'fibsland: one end of said l UNITED' STA I ES PATENTS arli'strwbhmiflobmg ounded"toprovi'de'extern- Number o 5 2:113? thereon; a load-engaging rocker surface in 398 Farr Feb a zone below the" clev'is' connection when the 1 Jerk-ins binder is in a position of service. 2 3 Haubelrt Md h 3113,1930 2,422,001 Durbin June 10; 19317" REFERENCES CITED FOREIGN PATENTS The followin gfiefere'nces are of record in the Numb? G iy' Difi 

